


A Taunting Reminder

by Kunoichirin



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hatake Kakashi Has PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, SasuNaru And ShikaKiba If You Squint, Singing, because i just had to, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21615091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kunoichirin/pseuds/Kunoichirin
Summary: Kakashi never liked to think about his past, but his nightmares won't let him forget. To make matters worse, a man keeps appearing, who apparently knows everything there is to know about Kakashi.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito
Comments: 3
Kudos: 91





	1. This Isn't Stalking! -Tobi

_He didn't want to turn around. He_ couldn't _turn around. He knew what he would see, and he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to see another person die because of him._

_"Ka... ka... shi..." The voice whispered. It was everywhere. It was a voice he knew well; Obito. If he'd just let Kakashi be the one buried under the rocks, he'd be alive. Rin would be alive. Maybe Minato and Kushina would be too. Because Obito would've done something. Because Rin would've done something._

_Because he ruined everything._

_It began happily. A simple rivalry. A sweet girl who adored them both. So what had gone wrong? Kakashi had gotten Obito to fall in love with him. Rin was heartbroken, but stayed by their side. Obito would risk anything and everything for Kakashi. And both knew Rin was important to them as, well, almost their sister._

_So they had to go after her. They had to rescue her from that man. Those ninja._

_The two raced through the woods together,_ _synchronized, step by step. Rin had to be rescued. Obito could tell Kakashi was nervous. Kakashi felt his hand trembling, but stop as a gentle hand took hold of his. He looked up at Obito, who was smiling reassuringly at him._

_"Everything will be alright in the end. I promise." He said, giving his hand a squeeze._

_"I swear to god, if you just jinxed us, I'll kill you." Kakashi growled. Obito laughed._

_"Yeah, right. You wouldn't harm me if your life depended on it." He said, rolling his eyes._

_"Try me."_

_"We have a job to do, we need to save Rin. Beat the living daylights out of me later, sadist."_

_"Excuse me, I do_ not _find pleasure in hurting people!" Kakashi protested._

_"I know, I was kidding. Lighten up, would you?"_

_"Hmm... Our friend has been kidnapped, maybe killed, and we're supposed to be rescuing her, but instead cracking jokes_ _because_ that _makes sense."_

_"Y'know, you can be a real killjoy sometimes."_

_"I'm aware; you two tell me nearly every day." Kakashi pointed out._

_"Because you are!" Obito laughed._

_"Back to Rin, Obito."_

_"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I know. I'm scared too. This is just my way of coping with stress."_

_"By Kami, Obi, try to be more serious about this."_

_Everything suddenly began fading away. Obito's normal smile was replaced with a sad one, and they were in the collapsed cave._

_Rin was crying._

_Obito was trying to speak._

_Kakashi was scolding him fiercely._

_"WHAT THE FUCK DID I SAY ABOUT YOU JINXING US!?" He shouted, slamming a fist into the rock on top of Obito. "You should've just left me there! Let me be the one crushed! Don't you know what's going to happen because of me?!"_

_Obito melted away to reveal Rin, and they were once again in a different place. Only then did Kakashi notice his Chidori through Rin's chest._

_"Ka...ka...shi..." She whispered. Obito's overlapped with hers. "Kakashi..."_

_It rang loudly in his head, he was sure his brain would implode._

_His father's voice suddenly cut in._

_"KAKASHI!!"_

_~_

Kakashi bolted upright, his chest tight, and fists clenched so tightly, his knuckles were snow white. He tried to breath, but with the mask that already limited his breath slightly already, nothing was happening.

He pulled down his mask quickly and gasped for breath. His lungs felt like they were on fire. He began a coughing fit, and suddenly was worried about waking his father.

 _Oh, that's right._ Kakashi realized. _I'm a jonin. Everything awful has already happened._

Still, he coughed nonstop for a full five minutes before finally gaining control of himself. He took a couple shallow breaths before easing back into his usual tempo. He felt something hot and wet slide down his cheeks. He brought a hand to his face, and touched the liquid he had not felt in years. He was crying.

 _I have my first assignment with my team today. I need to pull myself together. The past shouldn't hold me down._ Kakashi thought fiercely. Taking a deep breath, he slid out of bed and stripped. As he pulled on his clothes, one thought nagged him; What if this team was like his old team?

Fully dressed now, he picked a flower he'd grown himself, and headed out to pay his respects to the memorial.

Obito had never really been a flower person, but Kakashi was. When they were younger, and just put on the team together, Obito had found a very rare flower Kakashi had always longed to find.

"That's the prettiest flower I've ever seen." Obito had said that day. They were hiding in the bushes, training in stealth. That's why they were training at night.

"Be quiet." Kakashi whispered.

"No, seriously, look." Obito picked the flower, and held it out to Kakashi. Kakashi's eyes widened.

"No way... I didn't know they grew around here..." He breathed. The flower was a beautiful shade of nearly-white pink, and the edges were curved like the top of hearts. 

"You recognize it?" Obito asked.

"This is what is called a Camellia Japonica Nobilissima." Kakashi said. Obito gave him a blank stare.

"Camilla Jalapeno Nobelles Ma?" Obito tried. "That's a mouthful." Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"It's also called Tsubaki. The flower means Waiting, or, Patience." He added.

"Wow, you really know you're stuff!" Obito grinned.

"I practice Hanakotoba..." Kakashi sighed, a little embarrassed. 

"That's like the language of flowers, or whatever, right?"

"For once, you're correct." Kakashi nodded. Obito reached over, and Kakashi flinched away from his touch. "What're you doing?"

Obito tucked the flower behind Kakashi's ear, and smiled. "It suits you." Kakashi's face flushed red, and he hid his face in his hands. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about! It's not like only girls are allowed to wear flowers."

"Obito, could you _please_ focus on training?"

Needless to say, although they did well with training, Kakashi had forgotten he was wearing the flower until he'd gone to bed that night.

Kakashi smiled slightly. That had been the day he'd actually started to fall for Obito. Obito, who he now loved and missed more than anything in the world. Who had died on his behalf. Who loved him to the very moment he died. And Kakashi couldn't do anything about it. That day forward, he'd vowed to never feel strongly about anyone but his team. And his team died anyway.

He held the flower he had now close, and thought of Obito. It was a Kuroyuri flower, which symbolized love, and curse. It symbolized exactly how Kakashi felt about Obito. He loved him to the point that it was a curse.

It was rather early, and the sun had barely risen when Kakashi went out to pay his respects to the memorial. He always went in the morning, but never brought flowers. Today, however, was special. Today would've been their thirteenth anniversary. The same number of years as Kakashi had been when Obito died. They'd only started dating a couple weeks before Kakashi had become a Jonin.

"Ka-kashi!" Kakashi sighed upon hearing his name. He'd recognize Gai's voice anywhere, and he hated it. Before he could disappear, Gai was walking next to him. "I hear you're getting your team today! Think they'll finally pass?"

"Not likely. No one else did." Kakashi replied in a monotone voice. "But perhaps I'll be wrong."

"Who's the flower for?" Gai asked suddenly, grinning like the idiot he was. "A..." He put his arm around Kakashi's shoulders. "special someone?"

"As a matter of fact," Kakashi began, shrugging off Gai's arm. "yes. It is."

"So what's this one stand for?" Gai asked. "I know you're like the Yamanaka's when it comes to flowers!"

Kakashi hesitated. He didn't have to explain himself to Gai, of all people. "Love, and curse." But, as always, he did. 

"So who's the lucky gal?" Gai asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

" _He_ is none of your business, Gai." He hissed. Gai paused, then face-palmed.

"How could I forget! My own rival's preference to men!" He said.

"It's not that big a deal, calm down." Kakashi sighed. "And please, Gai. I would like to have privacy with him. So kindly leave me be." As he spoke, his free hand subconsciously went to his eye.

"I gotcha!" Gai grinned, shooting finger guns at him. "But if you get turned down, I'm always a shoulder to cry on!"

"Gee, thanks." Kakashi rolled his eyes. _But I'm not getting turned down. I'm celebrating mine and Obito's thirteenth anniversary. Alone..._

He reached the cemetery only minutes later, and as he passed the graves, he said a quick hello to his father and Rin. Before he stopped at Obito's grave, Kakashi went to the memorial to greet Minato and Kushina.

As he approached, he felt the presence of another. He glanced around, but no one was there. "Hey, Minato-sensei, Kushina." He said. "I'm getting assigned another team today. I pray they don't fail... but I also kind of hope thy do. I don't mean to offend you, Lord Fourth, but I don't particularly want to be stuck with your son. I already had to babysit him a lot when he was little because Lord Third was always too busy. And he was quite the handful. I doubt too much has changed. He's still a troublemaker." Kakashi chuckled to himself. "It was nice to talk. But I have to go say hello to Obito. It's... well... kind of an important day to me. See you- well, talk to you later."

He walked to Obito's grave, and took a deep breath.

"Hello Obito." Kakashi greeted softly. The sense of another presence greatly increased. Kakashi looked around again. "You're spirit up or something? I can feel a presence, but no one appears to be here." He smiled a little. "Happy thirteenth anniversary, by the way. I know that if you were here now, and I gave you a flower, you'd laugh at me." Carefully, he put the flower in the vase, which had rain water already in it. "This one means Love, and Curse. If you want, I can tell you it's history."

Without much of a pause, Kakashi went on, telling him about the folklore about the flower, and onto fun facts about it. He loved to share that information with Obito, because Obito always listened. He always seemed interested, and amazed. Sometimes Rin would join them to listen, but it was as if she wasn't even there. It always just felt like him and Obito.

As he finished the last legend he knew, he trailed off, his eyes saddening. He stayed silent, looking down at Obito's grave in longing.

"Why'd you stop?" Kakashi jumped to his feet, kunai at the ready. He didn't recognize the voice, but it came from nowhere. He looked around quickly, and just as he thought he was in the clear, he turned back to the grave, and a man was standing there, mere inches away from Kakashi. Kakashi took a quick three steps back, keeping a cautious eye on the man. The man raised his hands. "It's alright, I'm not here to cause harm.

The man was wearing a long black cloak and mask. "Who are you?" Kakashi asked, his voice cracking a bit. He cleared his throat quickly, and held his stance.

"Here to remind you that you're late for meeting your new team, Kakashi." Kakashi froze, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. "Are you nervous? Frightened, maybe? That's so unlike you." Kakashi tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond. The man was only inches from Kakashi's nose now, leaning too close for comfort. The stranger's hand rose to Kakashi's chin, and he leaned just the slightest bit closer. Kakashi could see a single eye through his mask. A single Sharingan, which revealed a smile. "Might want to recover from your paralysis soon. Don't want to disappoint those kids."

With a spiral of wind coming from his eye, he was gone. Several minutes after the encounter, Kakashi still couldn't move. He didn't understand why. 

"Who... _what_ are you?" Kakashi breathed to nothingness. Everything seemed to tune out around him, except for the man's voice in his head. It was both terrifying, and seductive.

"Kakashi!" Upon hearing his name, the trance Kakashi was in shattered, and reality came rushing back to him. Gai was standing in front of him, a look of concern breaking his natural cocky appearance. "I saw you standing here, and a man. He disappeared into thin air, and you were just-just frozen! Who was that?"

"I... I don't know." Kakashi answered. "I need to go. I have a team waiting for me."

By now, the sun had fully risen, and as Kakashi walked to the academy, he calmed himself, and pulled himself together. The moment he reached the academy, he took one last minute to relax. Everything would be fine.

He opened the front door, and headed down to the classroom. He glanced at the chalkboard eraser stuck in the top of the door. _A simple prank. Huh. Well, if it was teamwork..._

Sliding open the door, he let the eraser fall on his head, and looked around with his eyes. 

"Ha ha! I can't believe he fell for it!" The blonde laughed. 

"I'm so sorry! I told him not to, but he didn't listen!" The pinkette apologized.

The black haired shinobi said nothing, and was simply staring out the window.

 _Oh, wonderful. Irritatingly obnoxious, weak, and 'cool'._ Kakashi mentally labeled them. _'Your father would never act this way, Naruto.' Is what I would say, but that would be rude and awkward._ "You know..." They all looked at him. "I really don't like you three."

~Time Skip~

They'd finally come back from their first real mission, which had gone unexpectedly south. Fighting a big time assassin, and somehow winning. Naruto had unleashed a little bit of his inner Kyuubi, but pulled it back together in the end. Kakashi had never been so terrified of losing someone in almost ten years.

He'd woken up that morning, freezing, even though it wasn't cold outside or in. It had been another nightmare. A stronger, worse nightmare.

Obito, Rin, and Minato's deaths had replayed over and over and over, for what seemed like hours. Memories of him and Obito circled around his head, taunting him. And finally, at the end Naruto looked at him with a pleading expression before succumbing to the Kyuubi, and destroying everything. Including the fabric of time itself.

Kakashi shuddered, remembering the terror he'd just experienced. Hugging himself, he took a deep breath, and focused his mind on the day ahead of him.

He stood, and changed into clothes. As he slipped out the door, he felt a cold gaze on his back. He ignored it, and walked to the cemetery. As always, he left his house before the sun was up, so that he wouldn't be late. But he always was anyway.

The cemetery was empty, like it was every morning. Except for the graves of people who's lives ended. Some were untimely. _Like Obito. And Rin. And Minato and my father. And Kushina. Because I couldn't protect them._

He shook his head, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, but they were still there. They would never leave. 

Saying hello to Rin and his father was the beginning of his morning routine. Rin's grave was only a couple graves away from his father's. He walked down the row, and stopped at his father's grave.

"Hey dad." He greeted simply. "I forgot to tell you... I have a team now. They actually passed the test. We had our first real mission, which was supposed to be escorting a bridgemaker to, well, his bridge. But we got cut off by some assassins, which we took out... I wouldn't say easily, because Naruto _did_ get poisoned, but he lived, and is fine."

As he told the story, he felt a presence again. _The_ presence. He finished the story calmly, and cautiously took out a kunai. Looking around, he wasn't there. Kakashi walked to Rin's grave, and said hello, before heading to the memorial to say hello to Minato and Kushina.

He saw someone else there first. Not the man, but Iruka. He wasn't too surprised to see him, but it _was_ early. Kakashi walked up beside him. "Hello, Iruka." He greeted.

Iruka jumped, having not seen him previously. "Oh, it's just you." He breathed. "I thought you were... someone else."

"Really? Pray tell." Kakashi invited.

"Just this man I've seen lurking around the cemetery a couple times... Kakashi?" Kakashi had tensed up upon hearing his sentence. "Kakashi, are you alright?"

"Black cloak and mask?" He barely whispered.

"Yes?" Iruka nodded. "What's wrong?"

"I-it's nothing." Kakashi assured him, clearing his throat and taking a deep breath. "So who might you be visiting?"

"My father. How about you?" Iruka asked.

"Lord Fourth and Kushina. I have their troublemaker of a son for a student." Kakashi shrugged.

"Oh, tell me about it." Iruka sighed. "He has so much potential, but he's just _so_ immature!"

"Plus, he has a crush on Sakura, which easily distracts him from training, and his rivalry with Sasuke is even worse." Kakashi sighed. "I'm beginning to think his crush on Sakura is a facade, so Sasuke doesn't catch on."

"What?"

"I know these things. Trust me, I've seen it before." Kakashi smiled sadly. "I've been there before." He added quietly.

"Have you now?"

"Did I say that out loud?"

Iruka cocked an eyebrow at him. "You did. Don't worry, I won't pry much. But... of the two of them, which one were you?"

"Eh?"

"Of Naruto and Sasuke."

"Oh." Kakashi put his hands in his pockets, and sighed. "Take a gander."

"Sasuke."

"Yup."

Iruka laughed. "A brooding child with a ball of sunshine after you. I can see that."

"Indeed he was. He was everything to me." Kakashi sighed. "And still is."

"I've never noticed. You've always been a loner." Iruka shrugged.

"I am."

"Oh..." Iruka's smile faltered. "You broke up, didn't you."

"No." Kakashi said, looking at the sky. "He died."

"I'm so sorry." Iruka condoled. They stayed in an uncomfortable silence for a moment.

"It's alright. We all have to move on at some point." Kakashi smiled. _Just wonder when that time will be._

"You know, I've always wanted to ask you something." Iruka began, slightly nervous. The older of the two looked down at him curiously. "Why is it that you wear a mask always?"

"Well, for many reasons. It gives out the 'mysterious' affect, which should usually also mean to stay away. It's comfortable, for another." Kakashi informed him. "Before you ask, I've taken it off for purposes other than eating. But Obito said it was distracting, so I never really take it off."

"Who?"

"I have to go." Kakashi excused himself quickly, walking off towards Obito's grave. 

He was usually really good about avoiding talk about Obito, or anything else about his past. But morning was always when he was at his natural weakest point, ever since the nightmares had started up again.

Sure, he'd been lower. But that was no excuse. He'd told himself never to be open about his past. Ever.

If Obito were still here, maybe everything would be alright. But he was alone. Even Itachi had left. Itachi, who was now a villain, who was now an _Akatsuki_ member. Who's little brother was out to kill him, and Kakashi had to deal with it.

The only member of Team 7 that didn't constantly give Kakashi déjà vu was Sakura. She was just unlucky enough to be on the team. Poor girl also had a temper. It made Kakashi believe she could be really scary if she tried hard enough to be.

Obito's grave was as haunting as ever, but also comforting to be around. It was as if Obito was right next to him.

"Hey, Obi." Kakashi said, looking down at the stone. "The team is getting along alright. Naruto reminds me of you quite a bit. If you were here, you two would get along really well." He looked up at the sky. "I'm late again. It keeps happening. I haven't been on time once. Should I try harder?"

Silence followed, much to Kakashi's relief.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I shouldn't be later than I already am." He turned, and was met with a mask only a couple inches away. Kakashi jumped, and whipped out his kunai, ready to strike. The man caught him by the wrist. "Why the hell do you keep appearing here!?" Kakashi demanded, pulling away so there were at least five feet between them.

"Just to say hi." He said almost sweetly. Kakashi's face twisted in disgust and confusion. "Oh, don't look at me like that."

"Well, I don't know if you realize, but you're being extremely creepy." Kakashi hissed. "Who are you?"

"Oh. Well." The stranger scratched his head. "Hm... I probably _should_ come up with a name, shouldn't I."

"What- you don't have a name?" Kakashi asked, weapon still at the ready.

"Well, I do, but you might murder me if I told you." The man laughed. "So why don't we go with Tobi."

"I have to be somewhere, so if you'll excuse me-"

"Oh, come on, Kashi." Tobi sighed. "You can't honestly tell me you don't want to stay. I know you."

"And I don't know you." Kakashi argued. "Also, don't call me Kashi, or I'll murder you regardless."

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. Okay, fine. I'll leave you alone for now." Tobi shrugged. With the same spiral of wind as before, he was gone.

"Little shit." Kakashi muttered. He looked up at the sun. "Oh no, I need to go."

He hurried out of the cemetery, and walked to where he'd said they'd train. 

The three were all waiting there for him. Naruto was tapping his foot impatiently, while the other two were waiting in silence.

"You're late again. What gives, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto complained.

"Well-"

"Never mind, I don't want to hear your lame excuse." He sighed.

"Good, because I didn't have a lie to tell you." Kakashi shrugged.

"What-"

"Alright, so shall we begin?"

~Smaller Time Skip~

Obito sighed. He wished he could tell Kakashi who he was already, but he had to wait. He needed to be smart. If Madara knew he was just 'infiltrating' the Leaf to see his boyfriend, he'd kill him. 

He didn't go many mornings, but did go almost every night. 

Tonight was one of those nights. He spent the nights right next to Kakashi. Sure, it seemed like a stalker thing to do, but he had no other way to see him without him hating him.

Kakashi's head was rested on Obito's lap, as Obito ran his fingers through his silver hair. He looked so peaceful. But he knew he wasn't. Obito had been here enough times to know that he always had nightmares. Whether they were strong or minor, Obito could almost never tell, but he knew he was suffering.

 _Well what was I supposed to do? Let him die? I don't think so._ Obito thought. _After all, if he'd been trapped under those rocks, I doubt Madara would've picked him up._

Obito looked down upon his love's face. His brow was furrowed in distress, with his eyes squeezed shut. It made Obito sad. He thought of when he was little, and there was a storm. His grandmother would sing to calm him down.

He'd never really sung before, except as a kid, when he'd join his grandmother. It was the only song he knew.

" _Are you, are you, coming to the tree. Where they strung up a man, they say who murdered three. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be, if we met at midnight in the hanging tree. Are you, are you, coming to the tree. Where dead man called out, for his love to flee. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be, if we met at midnight in the hanging tree._ "

He looked down upon Kakashi, whose expression was beginning to return to the calm Obito knew and loved.

" _Are you, are you, coming to the tree. Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be, if we met at midnight in the hanging tree. Are you, are you, coming to the tree. Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be, if we met at midnight in the hanging tree._ "

Yes, he understood the lyrics now. If he didn't know, he'd have to be dumb. But as a kid, the song calmed him. And still did.

" _Are you, are you, coming to the tree. Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be, if we met at midnight in the hanging tree. Are you, are you, coming to the tree. Where they strung up a man, they say who murdered three. Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be, if we met at midnight in the hanging tree._ "

Obito continued to hum the tune for a little bit, looking longingly down at Kakashi. He loved him more than he'd ever loved anything before. It pained him to see him hurt, especially because of him. But he had to be patient. He only had to wait three more years. That's when the plan would happen, and Obito would be free to reunite with Kakashi.

That was the plan. Madara had said three years. Obito could only pray that everything would go right.

~That Morning~

Kakashi awoke that morning, feeling calm. He let himself smile. He'd gotten a good night's sleep for once. He slipped out of bed and began his morning routine. He walked quicker to the cemetery instead of dragging his feet.

The morning went by quickly, and he was at the training grounds before his team.

Sasuke was the first to come into view, Sakura and Naruto following only a few feet behind.

"Oh! Good morning, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura greeted.

"Good morning." Kakashi said.

"Huh. You're not late this morning!" 

"Are you complaining?" Kakashi asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, I'm just surprised! You're always coming up with lame excuses as to why you're late." Naruto shrugged.

"Well if you really want to know why..."

"Nah, don't give us your excuses today!" Naruto interrupted. 

"Then why don't we train instead of standing around talking?" Kakashi suggested, hands on his hips.

"Now you're talking!" Naruto grinned.

They were simply having a three-person sparring session to begin with, while Kakashi watched. This was a test to see where they were at. Sakura was surprisingly good at defense, but she almost never engaged in combat. Naruto always attacked first, but usually ended up getting kicked in the face by Sasuke. He was too gullible. Sasuke would fake an opening, and Naruto fall for it _every time_. There was an easy way to see if it was a fake or not. Kakashi hadn't taught them yet, but it seemed like he should.

As he watched, he hummed a tune. He didn't entirely recognize the tune, but it was stuck in his head, with almost haunting yet soothing lyrics. He paid it no attention, and watched as Sasuke beat Naruto into the ground. Sakura did nothing to engage.

"Sakura." Kakashi called. She looked at him, and Sasuke took her distraction as a chance to hit her hard. She skid across the ground, before looking up at Kakashi angrily.

"Why'd you do that!?" She demanded.

"Number one; you need to be able to split your attention. Never take your eyes off your opponent. Number two; you need to engage in combat. If you don't train now, your going to regret it. Or you won't have time to regret it before you die." Kakashi told her bluntly. "Number three; never let your guard down. Even if you think you're alone, or you believe you're with friends. Always, no matter the circumstance, keep your guard up."

Sakura took a deep breath, and launched herself into battle. Kakashi smiled when she nailed Naruto in the jaw.

 _She's probably been dying to do that._ Kakashi thought. When Sasuke had pinned Naruto to the ground with his foot, Kakashi intervened.

"I've seen enough. You all have a lot to work on." He announced to them. They all groaned. "But, you surprised me. You've learned more than I've taught you already. Naruto, I think you desperately need to learn the difference between an opening, and a faux opening."

"Foe opening?" Naruto repeated.

"Fake, you dolt." Sakura said, clocking him. He grinned.

"I knew that."

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura, you need to not be afraid to join the combat. If your ally is in danger, you need to help them. Remember, offense is the best defense." He turned to Sasuke. "And you... you need to work on everything."

"What?!" All three of them exclaimed.

"If Naruto didn't have rocks between his ears-" "Hey!" "-then he could've easily taken you down."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, for starters, you had too many openings. Sure, you wouldn't notice them upon first glance, but Naruto only noticed the false openings because you brought attention to them. Which brings us to our second problem." Kakashi crossed his arms. "You two need to work on recognizing openings. Sasuke, take your best battle stance."

Sasuke obeyed. Kakashi clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"See, we have many openings here." He said. "Watch closely." Before Sasuke could react, Kakashi grabbed him by the wrist, and twisted it behind his back, whilst simultaneously pinning his other arm above his head. "Now he could escape rather easily. Or," Kakashi simply widened his own stance slightly. "I could prevent that."

"There is _no_ way that made any difference!" Naruto protested.

"Why don't we test that?" Kakashi moved his foot back to his original position. "Go ahead."

Sasuke twisted his arm out from behind his back like a snake and judo flipped Kakashi. Kakashi, being bigger than Sasuke, easily made a graceful landing.

"Now, let's try the other." Kakashi did the same thing, but widened his stance. Sasuke tried to judo flip him again, but Kakashi dug his heels in, and didn't budge. He let go of Sasuke, and drew a line in the air, signifying the distance between his two feet. "This is the first stance every shinobi was taught. At least, it was the first one _I_ was taught. But then again, my teacher was..." He trailed off, staring at Naruto. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, teaching has gone downhill since I was a student."

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. "What was it like when you were in school?"

"Almost the same as you. Except that I graduated much, much earlier than you." Kakashi told her.

"How old were you?" 

"Five." Kakashi shrugged. The three blinked at him. "No, I'm not lying. I was top of my class. Unlike _some_ of you, I worked day and night just to be as skilled as the rest of my class. I ended up surpassing them."

"Wow..." Sakura breathed. "That's amazing!"

Kakashi looked down at her, and his heart clenched. Obito used to say the same exact thing, the same exact way. "Please... don't say that."

She looked at him curiously, then guiltily. She must've seen his eyes sadden. Kakashi was usually really good about keeping his emotions in check. But he couldn't help it just then.

"She's just complimenting you. What's the deal?" Naruto asked.

"I don't do well with 'compliments'." Kakashi answered.

"But why?"

"That's enough." 

"But-"

"I said, that's enough." Kakashi said sharply. "This conversation is done."

An uncomfortable silence followed.

"I'm sorry, I should've stayed quiet." Sakura apologized.

"It's not your fault." Kakashi assured her. "Some people just need to learn not to press further when told not to."

~Naruto Shippuden~

"You're annoyingly chipper today." Deidara scoffed.

"Of course I am! I'm surprised you're not!" Tobi grinned. "After all, today's the day everything begins! I've waited three years for this to start."

"For what, our plan?"

"Yup!"

"Why? It's just a dumb plan."

"Everything is going to go exactly how I've dreamed!" Tobi said. "And I'm finally going to see him again."

"Woah, why'd your voice just change?" Deidara asked, taking a step back. "That was freaky. Just like you."

"Oopsie, did I say that out loud? He he!" Tobi scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "It's just that this is the beautiful beginning of a beautiful new chapter!" Deidara stared at him in disgust.

"You're weird." He said. Tobi laughed again. "No, seriously, you need to seek mental help."

"Oh, Deidara, you're funny." Tobi smiled. 

"No, I'm being serious. You would do well to learn what that means." Deidara muttered.

"I know what it means. I'm plenty serious, all the time!" Tobi shrugged.

"Definitely not."

Tobi leaned in close to him and spoke simply and clearly. "How do you know this isn't just a simple facade for how I'm constantly feeling, and you're all just puppets in my grand scheme of things?" He retracted, and giggled. Deidara blinked at him

"Yeah, you need serious help."

~

"Hello, Kakashi."

Kakashi froze upon hearing the sleazy voice. He hadn't heard it in nearly three years, apart from a third time in the graveyard.

"Everything's beginning as I told you. No Jinchuriki is safe. No shinobi will ever sleep in peace. Not until the day we meet again." The voice whispered. A bead of cold sweat fell down Kakashi's color-drained face. The man's mouth was so close to his ear, every word seemed to echo. "Don't be afraid. You're going to get everything you've ever wanted."

As suddenly as the man appeared, he was gone. Kakashi couldn't move. For the first time, he would admit, he was terrified. It was the same feeling of dread he felt whenever he appeared. Tobi, he called himself.

Whoever this 'Tobi' was- an enemy of Kakashi's, or maybe someone trying to slowly wear him down- he was beginning to succeed in scaring the unscarable. 

"Kakashi-sensei!" Someone's hand rested on Kakashi's shoulder, and he grabbed it instinctively, flinging the person across the street, his mind entirely engulfed in panic. When his eyes finally registered who was in front of him, his hands were shaking.

Sakura looked up at him, confused and concerned, but mostly startled. Kakashi took a step back, his eyes wide with fear.

"Kakashi... sensei?" She barely whispered.

"I... I..." Kakashi looked down at his shaking hands. "I didn't... mean to."

Sakura rose to her feet, and looked at him apologetically. "It's alright. I shouldn't have snuck up on you." She took a cautious step towards him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah- yeah!" Kakashi nodded. "Just, um, jumpy, is all." He assured her, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Are you sure? I've never seen you so startled. You look pale." Sakura tried, taking another few steps forward.

"I just... have a really bad feeling about this year." Kakashi muttered. "Did, uh, you hear Naruto is back?"

"Yeah! We just met again a few minutes ago." Sakura said. "Are you sure you're alright?" She reached out cautiously towards him, and he flinched so hard he almost fell over.

He looked at her, still shaken from his previous encounter. "I just need some time." He replied, clearing his dry throat. Kakashi quickly left the ally, and hopped from roof to roof.

Landing at the entrance of the cemetery, he took a deep breath to compose himself. He really needed to work on keeping his emotions in check. He scared Sakura, the poor girl. She was probably fine, but it didn't make up for the fact that he'd flung her across the street. Obviously, he hadn't meant to, but it didn't replace the fact that he had.

Kakashi's mind shifted to Tobi. Why did he insist on pestering Kakashi? What could he possibly want? Whatever it was, Kakashi wanted nothing more than for him to hurry up and do it already instead of torturing him so.

He needed time to think. If Tobi showed up again, what would he do? With his strange disappearing act, he couldn't be caught. He was too fast or too taunting for Kakashi to land a hit, and Kakashi didn't even _want_ to punch him for some reason.

But why? And who even was Tobi? Was he Itachi, with his sharingan? Or some other survivor of the Uchiha Clan resenting him for practically causing Obito's death, and having his eye? Was it someone with Genjutsu, just making Kakashi _think_ they had the sharingan? The possibilities were endless.

Even with all these possibilities, one thing was nagging Kakashi. What Tobi had said. 'No Jinchuriki is safe. No shinobi will ever sleep in peace. Not until the day we meet again.' And the last part. 'You're going to get everything you've ever wanted.' 

Everything he'd ever wanted? What was that even supposed to mean? It's not like he could use some sort of necromancy... wait. That was it. What if it was Orochimaru? _No, if he wanted to haunt someone, why me? And he'd just walk up to them without a disguise._ So then... did someone else know necromancy? Or was that some kind of implication that he was going to get the opposite of what Tobi had said? Was he going to die, because that would also be great.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi jumped at the sound of another voice, snapping him out of his thoughts. Naruto was running towards him, waving. "Sakura and I were going to test our skills. Want to come test us?"

"Oh. Yeah. Sure." Kakashi nodded, his eyes darting around nervously. "I'll be there in a moment."

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, eyeing him curiously. "You look on edge."

"No, no, everything's... fine..." Kakashi trailed off, thinking of the warning. _No Jinchuriki is safe. Naruto is not safe. Gaara is not safe. The others are not safe._ "Know what, I'll just come with you. After all, we should start as soon as possible, right?"

Naruto nodded, still eyeing Kakashi.

~After Training~

The moment Kakashi was out of sight, Naruto turned to Sakura. "Have you noticed Kakashi-sensei acting strangely?"

"You too?" Sakura said, looking Naruto dead in the eyes. "Something isn't right."

"Something is _really_ wrong." Naruto nodded. "He's hiding something. Did you notice how his eyes kept darting around? It was like he was only half focused on the battle, and half looking for something."

"Earlier today, I saw him standing on the side of the street, completely frozen. He looked as though he'd just seen a ghost." Sakura began. "I went to say hi, and put my hand on his shoulder. Next thing I knew, I was thrown into the side of a building. The strangest part about it, was that he just looked... terrified."

"That's pretty out of character for him." Naruto agreed. "Maybe he _did_ see a ghost."

"Ghosts don't exist, you dolt." Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes. "We should start from the beginning. Who knows Kakashi the best?"

They locked eyes.

"Gai."

~

They found Gai sparring with Rock Lee, looks of determination on both their faces. Upon seeing Naruto and Sakura walking towards them, they paused.

"Naruto! It's been a while!" Lee greeted.

"Hey Lee." Naruto's grin faltered, and Sakura and Naruto looked to Gai seriously.

"I don't like that look you're giving me. What's up?" Gai asked.

"It's Kakashi-sensei." Sakura began. "Something's wrong."

"I'm sure you're just overreacting. Nothing ever gets Kakashi down!...Anymore." Gai said.

"No." Naruto persisted. "Something _is_ wrong. We know you two have known each other since childhood, so you'd know him best."

"I know him better than anyone alive!" Gai grinned. "Any questions you have, ask away."

"Today, he was acting really off. Like, really, really out of character." Sakura began. "He's acting on edge, and, well, I don't know how else to put this, so... scared."

Gai barked a laugh. "Kakashi? Scared? Never! Sure, he can predict bad things happening. He has a six sense for that. Like on that day... uh..." He trailed off, looking at Naruto. "And those other several times."

"Well, he said he had a bad feeling for this year." Sakura offered. "His eyes kept darting around, like he was expecting something to come out of nowhere. And he won't tell us anything, so we thought, well, maybe you could talk to him."

Gai sat there, stunned, then sighed. "I'd like to, but he's never been open to anyone. Ever. The only people he was ever open to were his old teammates."

"We've never heard much about his old team. Like you said, he isn't open. Could they have something to do with it?" Naruto asked.

"No. They've all been dead for a long time." Gai said sadly. "He had a tough childhood. One might say his childhood only lasted until he was about five."

"That's when he graduated, wasn't it?" Sakura clarified.

"Yep. I'd challenge him every day, but ever since his father commit suicide, he'd only ever put half his effort forward-"

"Wait, what?" Naruto exclaimed. "Go back, go back. His father commit suicide when he was five? It's almost like... Sasuke. What about his mother?"

"He never really knew his mother." Gai continued. "He grew up alone. He put the mission above everything. He'd been on several teams before he finally became Minato's student. That's when everything changed for him."

"Who's Minato?" Naruto asked. "Or, who was Minato?"

"He was the Fourth Hokage." Gai said. "But before he was Hokage, he was a teacher. He was Kakashi's sensei, and friend."

"What about his teammates?" Sakura asked.

"Well, there was Rin, and there was Obito. Obito was a lot like you, Naruto. You know Kakashi's saying, 'those who break the rules are scum-"

"but those who leave their friends behind are worse than scum'? Yes, I know. That's why I was confused when you'd said he put the mission above everything." Naruto said.

"He learned that from Obito." Gai nodded. "He and Obito had a rivalry more real than mine and Kakashi's, though I hate to admit it. They were like Naruto and Sasuke. Everyone thought they were oil and water."

"I doubt they were like me and Sasuke..." Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Indeed. You two were rivals, and friends." Gai said. "They were rivals and friends, but they, well, they were much more than friends."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Well, there was always a little bit of a love triangle from what I picked up. This gets a bit confusing. I had originally thought that Obito and Kakashi had both liked Rin. Rin definitely liked both of them, but I found out that Kakashi and Obito saw her more as a sister. Obito and Kakashi, well, they were the two that were actually in love."

"Wait, but they're both boys." Sakura said.

"And that's... okay?" Naruto asked.

"Of course it is! You're not defined by who you like!" Gai exclaimed. "Don't you two know that?"

"Well I thought I was the only one!" Naruto shrugged. Sakura looked at him. "I mean, uh..."

"Whatever, we're getting off track." Sakura dismissed. "So his past doesn't have to do with his condition. But... um, what happened to Obito?"

"Well, Kakashi was three years younger than Obito. They took the same Chuunin exam. Kakashi passed, at age six. Obito had failed, at age nine." Gai said. "At age ten, Kakashi became a Jonin, and the two of them finally began officially dating. However... a few days, or weeks, or something- I can't remember- after, Obito had an accident on a mission, and died."

"Oh no..." Sakura breathed.

"It crushed Kakashi. Not too long after, Rin died as well. I don't know how, but she did. And then came the Nine-Tails attack. That was Minato's death, as well as his wife's. So Kakashi closed himself off from everyone, either hoping to protect them, or just out of grief." Gai finished. "That's not where it ends though. The Third Hokage Put Kakashi in the ANBU, where he met Itachi. And you know where Itachi is now."

"That's... awful." Sakura half whispered, wiping away a tear. Even Naruto was in shock.

"Listen, you can't tell him I told you. He'd kill me." Gai said.

"That still didn't answer our question... I don't think..." Naruto thought for a moment. "Nightmares, maybe?"

"There's only one way to find out." Sakura said coldly. "We have to ask him. It's the only way we'll find out."

"I don't know... he probably still won't tell us." Gai shrugged. "Be my guest though, I'm not stopping you. Good luck."

With that, they parted ways, Sakura and Naruto searching for their sensei. Obviously, they didn't expect to find him right away, but now knowing what he'd gone through, well, it was a lot to take in. Naruto suddenly felt guilty. Kakashi and this Obito guy had been exactly like him and Sasuke. It must've been painful to watch the two of them.

Sakura, on the other hand, was wondering about this 'Rin'. How had _she_ died? Yes, on a mission, but Gai seemed like he was trying to avoid giving something awful away. She wanted to know, and perhaps, finally, they would get the full story of Kakash-sensei's past. Somehow, she believed she'd only gotten half of the story from Gai. After all, he hadn't been the one to experience such pain and misery.

They didn't know the first place to search for Kakashi, since the didn't know where he lived, surprisingly. Maybe he had a place he always was every morning,(which would explain why he was always late) but they didn't know that either. He was a very secretive guy.

Only now did Naruto realize how much he hated it. Kakashi hadn't exactly _lied_ to them, but he felt that, since they were close, they should get to learn more about him. Really, they hadn't known him at all. And they only just found out. It also kind of hurt him, knowing there was so much they were being insecure about. Whenever they said he didn't understand, or he had it easy, or even that he wouldn't recognize rivalry if it punched him in the mouth(because they didn't count Gai and Kakashi's rivalry). Or every time Kakashi tried to hint that he knew that Naruto really loved Sasuke, Naruto would reply that Kakashi didn't know the first thing to love. Finally, he understood the sad look in his eyes he always had.

But regretting things now was only wasting their time. They needed to find Kakashi if they ever hoped it cure this curiosity they felt. Nothing could derail them from their tracks.

"Hello, Naruto. Hello, Sakura." Naruto sighed at the sound of Sai's voice.

"Not now Sai, get lost. This is official Team 7 business." Naruto growled.

"Oh, but isn't that the team I am on?" Sai pointed out, following with that fake smile of his.

"It's for the original members only, Sai. You wouldn't get it, because you don't understand emotions." Sakura said passive-aggressively. 

"Then wouldn't this be a great time to learn?" Sai replied.

"No! This is above your understanding, and you would only make everything worse! You always do!" Naruto shouted.

"Would this be a time to feel threatened, or offended?" Sai asked. Naruto's eyebrow twitched.

"I'd say I'm sorry, because I hadn't meant to shout at you, but you're a real pain in the ass." He hissed. "I'm just... a little upset right now. And confused."

"This is between us and Kakashi-sensei, alright Sai? It has nothing to do with you." Sakura added.

"I'd say I understand, but I do not. I will leave you be, though." Sai nodded. "I can at least tell by now that I would be of no use to this situation." Without another word, he nodded farewell, and left.

Naruto released a sigh. "Is it just me, or is he actually improving?"

"It's not just you." Sakura informed him. "Now come on. We need to go find Kakashi-sensei." 

And so they continued to search the village, without much luck. They asked around, but no one had seen him too recently. They checked the ramen shop, the training grounds, even the cemetery, because Sakura thought maybe he went to grieve.

After hours of no luck, they came across a brown house they'd never really noticed had existed. Maybe the residence here would somehow know something. Naruto walked to the door, and knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again. "Hello? Is anyone home?" He called. Still no answer. He knocked once more.

"Maybe they're not home." Sakura said. "Or they don't want to be bothered. C'mon, we should leave."

Just as they turned to leave, they heard the door creak open, and then immediately slam shut again. Naruto whipped around, and knocked again.

"We know you're there!"

"Please leave." A familiar voice said quietly. "I'm, uh, busy."

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura breathed.

"Oh, cut the crap, we know you're not! We need to talk to you!" Naruto called.

There was a moment of silence before the door creaked open again. Kakashi stood at the door, eyes down, and hugging himself. "I'm sorry, okay? I hadn't meant to-"

"We know, sensei." Sakura began. "But we're worried. We just want to talk."

"I'm... not sure I can. Goodbye." He attempted to shut the door, but Naruto stuck his foot in the way.

"Kakashi-sensei, we've been searching for you for hours, and found this place by chance, so we're not leaving." He stated firmly. "Please."

Kakashi stared at them for a moment, then sighed, and opened the door. "Come in, I suppose." They followed him into the living room, and he motioned for them to sit. "Can I get you anything? Tea, maybe?"

"No, that's alright." Sakura dismissed. "We just came here to talk with you. About something important."

Reluctantly, Kakashi sat down across from them. "And what might that be?"

"We... found out a lot about... your past." Kakashi froze. Sakura continued. "And we just wanted to know... the full story."

"I..." Kakashi trailed off, not able to form words. Finally, he sighed. "I suppose it's about time I told someone. Not many know much. Those who do are dead, or Gai." He took a deep breath. "Where to begin."

"How about from the beginning?" Naruto suggested.

"Well... I grew up with my father, until about around the age four or five. He'd put a big mission in jeopardy to save his friends, and everyone hated him for it. He couldn't take anymore of it, and commit suicide. I found him, that morning, curled up with a kunai in his hands, piercing his chest. Shortly after, I graduated school. I vowed to always put the mission first, before everything." Kakashi chuckled. "Might be hard to believe, but it's true."

Naruto swallowed hard.

"For about the next year, I was on many different teams. I was known as a prodigy, but... a lot of people didn't like me due to my extreme methods." Kakashi sighed. "And then I was on a team with my first real friends; Obito and Rin. Me and Obito had kind of a rivalry, just like you and Sasuke." His voice cracked when he said the name, and he cleared his throat. "Anyway, we got to know one another, and trained together, fought together and against one another."

He continued to tell them about the missions they went on, how Obito always got so frustrated with him for putting the mission first. He told them that Minato and Kushina were the closest things he'd ever had to parents since that awful day. He told them about Rin, and Obito. 

"Finally, he'd asked to talk to me in private." Naruto and Sakura were on the edge of their seats. "It was pretty awkward. He told me he'd had feelings towards me for a very long time... and I stared at him for a moment in shock. And then I, well, I, um..."

"What'd you do? Kiss him?" Sakura pressed, leaning forward.

"No... I thanked him." Kakashi mumbled.

"YOU THANKED HIM!?" Naruto exclaimed, bursting out laughing. Sakura smiled, then clocked him to get him to shut up. "Ow."

"Yes. We then poured our hearts out to one another, so, you know, we'd know everything. And then we started dating." Kakashi's expression faltered slightly. "A couple weeks later, I became a Jonnin. And then... about two or three years later, he..."

"Why don't you tell us the whole story?" Sakura suggested gently.

"It'd started as a simple mission." He began. He told them how Rin had gotten kidnapped, and the two chased after her. He told them how he'd lost his eye, and how Obito had awoken his Sharingan to protect him. He told them how they'd rescued Rin, but the ninja collapsed the cave. "We were running... and we were so close to the exit, too. A rock fell on my head, and I passed out for only a second. Obito grabbed me, and threw me out of the cave... but..."

Sakura's hand was covering her mouth in shock.

"The cave collapsed. His right side was crushed." His voice was beginning to shake. "I tried to push the rock off of him, but it... I wasn't strong enough." He paused, and laughed. "I was scolding him so fiercely, telling him he should've left me. That's when he'd said that he remembered... he was the only one who hadn't gotten me anything for me when I became a Jonnin. I told him that it didn't matter."

He paused, and took a deep breath.

"Rin was a medic nin. She was very skilled, too. He asked her to transplant his eye into my lost one." Naruto made a disgusted face. "Yeah, it was pretty gross. But not nearly as traumatizing as seeing Obito die. Rin stayed by his side, and I went out and killed that ninja. I killed him, because he killed Obito. I had just perfected Chidori, thanks to Obito, so I ended his life with that." Kakashi sighed. "I returned, and Rin and I had to leave, because the cave was collapsing again... I watched as he said goodbye..." A single tear fell from his eye. Naruto and Sakura flinched. He had never cried in front of them before. Kakashi quickly wiped away the tear. "In any case, we were cut off by many other ninja. I couldn't take all of them. Minato used his sort-of teleportation jutsu, and rescued us."

"Minato had teleportation jutsu!?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Indeed. He was the Yellow Flash of the Leaf." Kakashi recalled.

"I didn't know that was real!" Sakura gasped. "I've read fictional stories about him-"

"Written in his memory. He was a hero." Kakashi smiled. "Everything was okay. I visited Obito's grave every morning. And I still do. Life was lonely, yes, but my team was there for me. And then a couple months or so later, Rin died."

"How?" Sakura asked. Kakashi flinched.

"She jumped in front of my Chidori." He said simply, then took a deep breath to compose himself. "I couldn't bring myself to use that jutsu for a long time after that."

Sakura was silent. "What happened to Minato?"

"Well, he became Hokage, and I was appointed to the ANBU." Kakashi shrugged. "A little later, after ending many lives for the village, Kushina got pregnant. For those nine months, Minato assigned me to make sure nothing happened to her."

"I've heard pregnant ladies can be a little hard o handle... how'd it go?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, she's _always_ been hard to handle. She was like the stern mother. And she was supposed to be." Kakashi took a deep breath. "The first thing you need to know, is that she was the previous Jinchuriki of the nine-tails."

"And everyone liked her?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, she was a wonderful person to be around, unless she got angry. Then you need to run." Kakashi laughed. "On the day she gave birth, the seal was weakened. And that's when the village was attacked. Someone came, and released the nine-tails. It destroyed much of the village."

Naruto stared at his shoes.

"In an attempt to save the village, Minato used his reaper jutsu to kill half of the nine-tail's soul, and then sealed the rest of him in their child." Naruto looked up. "The Kyuubi attempted to kill the child, but Minato and Kushina threw themselves in front of his claw, and were impaled. The baby lived."

"And... what happened to the baby?" Naruto asked.

"The Third Hokage raised him. Well... kind of. He was busy all the time, so when he was a baby, he'd dump him on me all the time." Kakashi stared directly at Naruto. "If you haven't figured it out already, that baby was you." Naruto had tears welling up in his eyes. "And you were really, really annoying to deal with."

"Hey!"

"You don't remember, but you were quite a handful. You through fits like there was no tomorrow. And it was awful. You gave me more headaches than I'd ever had in my life." Kakashi sighed. "I had to babysit you until you could finally go to school. Second-happiest day of my life."

"So you were basically like a father to him?" Sakura asked, grinning.

"If you want, I can tell you some specific stories-"

"No, no, that's fine." Naruto interrupted. "But... could you tell me more about my parents?"

"Well..."

~

Tobi sighed, and stepped away from the window. He slumped against the side of the house. _I ruined a kid's life just so I could meet Kakashi again one day. I really am selfish._ He thought. _I really do miss Minato and Kushina, but... this is for Kakashi._

Obviously, he knew it was _extremely_ selfish, but maybe Kakashi would be okay again. After all, he missed him. And he missed Kakashi. If there were an easier way, he'd do it. But for now, this was how it had to be.

Yes, he admit, he was being kind of creepy, but he had nothing else he really could do about it. He was happy for now. But he knew he was hurting. After all, Tobi knew him better than anyone.

"What are you doing?" Tobi jumped, hitting his head on the side of the house. It was just a kid. He had black hair tied back in a spiky ponytail, and lazy hazel eyes. He looked rather bored.

"Just... chillin'." Tobi lied.

"Right..." He watched him skeptically. "Well, kindly move. I need to get to the door."

"Oh! You, um, can't!" Tobi said quickly. "Important, um, business. Is in there."

The boy seemed to be analyzing something. _My cloak!_ Tobi thought, alarmed. But he wasn't trying anything. He didn't even look scared.

"Don't you have important Akatsuki stuff to do?" The boy paused. "Oh, so Naruto _is_ here."

"Maybe." Tobi said. "You're not... scared?"

"Why should I be? Aren't you that weird one who can phase through stuff?" He shrugged. "You have better things to do than waste your time killing me."

"Oh! I know who you are." Tobi realized. "You're that smart one on Asuma's team."

"Shikamaru will do, thanks." He sighed, acting as though him knowing that wasn't creepy. "Now. Unless you've already kidnapped Naruto or whatever, I need to talk to him."

"Oh. Well. Just... don't tell them I was here." Tobi said. "Kakashi might freak out, and he just calmed down."

"Sure." Shikamaru sighed. _He sighs a lot_. Tobi noted, then turned, and left. He spied, though, hiding in a tree. He watched as Shikamaru tapped on the door. It opened a couple seconds later, revealing Sakura.

"Oh, hey, Shikamaru." She greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Is Naruto here? If I'm interrupting some important Team 7 stuff, I'll leave." Shikamaru offered.

"Oh, well, we're almost done. Give us a couple minutes, and he'll be right out." Sakura nodded, then closed the door. Shikamaru leaned against the house, and pulled out a sheet of paper, scribbling something down on it. Tobi was too far away to read it, but it probably wasn't important.

When the door opened again, Naruto walked out, and greeted him. Kakashi also greeted him, and Shikamaru folded the paper. His eyes glanced around, and he held out his hand. Confused, Kakashi shook it. When they left, Kakashi looked in his hand, and quickly walked back in his house, closing the door.

 _Eh?_ Tobi thought. _What was that about?_ He thought for a minute, then pieced it together. _He was cautious, in case I was still around. He knew he couldn't fully hide it from me, but he might think I'm dumb, and didn't figure it out. He gave himself time and a small crowd to leave in. He's actually pretty bright. It's not that big a deal. Hopefully._ _I'll have to remember him._

Deciding to leave, he used his Sharingan to shift away.

~

Kakashi read the note. _A member of the Akatsuki was spying on you. Orange spiral mask? Sound familiar? If so, I've seen him around a lot. Wherever you end up being. Just thought I'd give you a heads up_. _He told me not to tell you, something about you just calming down or whatever, so I thought this'd give me time to leave._

He crumpled the note up, and tossed it in the fire. _Bright kid._ Kakashi thought as he sat down. _He must think he's still nearby._ _And he might be._ He looked down at his hands, which had started shaking again. _Fuck._

Apparently, Shikamaru was more observant than him. Kakashi had only seen him four... maybe five times. Ever.

This made him a little frustrated. _Just how often is he stalking me? And why? I need to talk with Shikamaru._

But that could wait. Right now, he needed to relax. 

~The Next Day~

"Might I have a word?" Kakashi asked.

"Hm?" Shikamaru looked up. Kiba took the chance to try and attack. Shikamaru easily took him by the arm, pushed him to the ground, and pinned him with one foot, without looking at him. They'd been sparring when Kakashi had showed up. Akamaru tried to attack, but Shikamaru caught him by the back of his neck, and pointed his front away from him. "Sure."

"It's about that note yesterday." Shikamaru sighed, and released Kiba and Akamaru. "I was hoping it'd be a quick thing, but I guess not." He turned to Kiba. "We'll pick this up later." Kiba rolled his eyes, but turned and left. Kakashi noticed the way Shikamaru watched him go, and smirked slightly. 

Only when Kiba was out of sight did he turn back to Kakashi. "So... I take it you've seen him before."

"Not too many times. Yesterday morning, two years ago, and twice three years ago." Kakashi shrugged. "But how often do _you_ see him."

"He's almost always _somewhere_ when I see you. Usually the graveyard." Shikamaru replied.

"When was the first time you saw him?" Kakashi asked.

"It was... a couple weeks before I graduated." Shikamaru said.

"And you never said anything?" Kakashi sighed.

"Well, I'd only seen him in the Akatsuki cloak a couple days ago, and then yesterday." He informed him. "That's when I knew he was maybe a problem."

"I used to think you were cautious." Kakashi muttered.

"Never said I wasn't." Shikamaru shrugged. "Whenever I saw you, I'd look around, and usually he'd be hidden in plain sight, or actually trying."

"And literally no one else noticed?" 

"Not that I know of. I was walking with Kiba at some point, and tried to point him out to him. And you think with his heightened senses, he'd notice. But he didn't." Shikamaru smiled slightly. "Then again, he's an idiot."

"Right..." Kakashi smirked at him.

Shikamaru noticed the smirk. "What?"

"Nothing, loverboy." Kakashi shrugged.

"WHAT!?" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"Alright, thanks. I'll see you later." Kakashi dismissed, as though he hadn't said anything wrong. He left Shikamaru standing there, flustered. "You're not the only observant one." He called back.

(Tobi snickered from the trees. _Ah, young love._ He thought.

"I can see you!" Shikamaru called. Tobi jumped, and disappeared).


	2. The Short-ish Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi finds out that Tobi is actually Obito. Chaos ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mostly just for your amusement, and so I could actually have an ending. Your welcome.

"Who are you!" Naruto shouted, throwing his fist into Tobi's mask. Upon impact, it shattered, revealing a face Kakashi thought he'd never see again.

Time seemed to freeze. Kakashi's shaking hands rose to mouth in shock. His wide eyes were starting to form tears. He had been alive this entire time, and was evil. He couldn't- no, wouldn't believe it.

"O...bito?" Kakashi half whispered. Gai turned to him, seeing him begin to crumble.

Taking him by the shoulders, he looked him directly in the eyes. "Look Kakashi, you need to calm down. I know this is devastating, but we need you. Just take a deep breath." Kakashi wasn't paying attention. Gai shook him. "Kakashi!"

Snapping out of his trance, he pushed Gai away from him. "Would you just shut up for one minute?" He said coldly. Gai immediately closed his mouth. "You try being stalked by some man you never thought you knew, and it ends up being you dead boyfriend turned evil! Then, we can talk."

"Kakashi, I know. It's really, really hard, but you need to focus."

"No, Gai, you _don't_ know." Kakashi hissed, then looked up at Obito. "I'm going to kick his ass."

"Oh, no..." Gai sighed as he watched Kakashi sprint through the battlefield towards Obito and Naruto. "I should just... not be here." 

Kakashi was going up from Obito back so he wouldn't see his coming.

"Just a quick question while I have you here," Obito began to Naruto, of whom he had pinned. "Where is Kakashi?"

"Right here, you motherfucker!" Kakashi shouted, punching him in the spine, sending him flying forward. Obito skid across the ground into the side of a cliff.

"Oh, hey honey!" Obito greeted with a smile.

"Don't you 'honey' me, you little shit!" Kakashi shouted. "You can't just pretend to die and then _stalk_ me, turn evil, and also pretend to be Madara, and expect me to forgive you!"

"Basically?" Obito shrugged, rising to his feet, then winced. "I think... you might've cracked my spine."

"Good, that's what I was aiming for." Kakashi sighed, returning to his neutral composure. "I needed that."

"Woah, woah, what's happening right now?" Naruto asked, standing.

"Oh wonderful." Kakashi growled, then smiled fakely. "Naruto, meet Obito. Obito, meet Naruto."

"Wait, this is Obito?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Kakashi said you died in a collapsed cave!"

"I promise to explain everything the moment you calm down, Kakashi." Obito offered.

"Calm... down?" Kakashi's eye twitched. "Obito, you completely betrayed my trust, and tried to kill hundreds of people! For what?!"

"You'll probably murder me if I tell you."

"I'll murder you regardless if you don't!" Kakashi shouted.

Obito chuckled. "Where have I heard _that_ before?"

"Just answer the damn question!" He barked.

"Okay, okay, you don't need to shout!" Obito complained, beginning to walk back towards Kakashi. Everyone on the battlefield had stopped what they were doing to watch these two act like a married couple.

"Alright then." Kakashi said, crossing his arms. "For what?"

"You." Obito mumbled.

"Me?"

"You."

"I'd say that's sweet," Kakashi began. "BUT YOU STARTED A WHOLE FUCKING WAR!!"

Obito flinched. "I know, I know. I'm sorry!"

"Not as sorry as you're _gonna_ be." Kakashi growled, cracking his knuckles.

"Here, Kashi, why don't I give us a little space to talk, instead of the middle of a battlefield." Obito offered.

"What- no! We're in the middle of a war-"

Too late. With a swirl of wind they were in an almost empty space with tall pillars they were standing on.

Kakashi blinked, and took a deep breath. "So let me get this straight- you pretend to die. You stalk me. You turn evil. You take a powerful Uchiha's name. And all for... me."

"..." Obito grinned sheepishly. "Yes?"

"You piece of shit." Kakashi sighed. "So you started a war that would probably end all wars- and by that I mean kill everyone- just so you could be like, 'surprise Kakashi! I'm not dead!' And you thought I would immediately forgive you."

"Well-"

"Did you think the Five Great Nations would also forgive you?"

"No, but-"

"And what about turning evil? Why couldn't you've just returned instead?"

"I COULDN'T!!" Obito shouted. Kakashi crossed his arms.

"Why is that?"

Obito took a deep breath. "I was supposed to die. I thought I died. But Madara came and rescued me. He wanted me to become the next Madara. I had to play along with his plans so that you'd be safe... and so I could see you again."

"Well then, end this war, and I'll consider forgiving you."

"I rigged it so that you guys would win. But you do need my help-"

"You can't rig a war, Obito."

"As long as everything goes according to plan, I did. And most everything is going the way I wanted." Obito shrugged.

"Most?"

"Well, you punched me in the spine. I didn't see that coming."

"There's a reason I snuck up behind you."

"Yeah, I know."

Kakashi sighed. "Alright then. Let's go end a war."

**Author's Note:**

> Now you have to wait a long time for the end. Maybe. Not too long, don't worry.


End file.
